sharing space

 

after months of not wanting to work on her quilt whenever i mentioned it, the quilting bug bit and d5 decided she wanted to get to work on it again.

that thrills me. the only problem was her timing. i was hard at work getting some sewing of my own done on the machine across from hers. if she was piecing, it would have been fine. but she was quilting, so the bulk of her quilt would be coming through the harp space and right at me where i was.

at some point, we may have two tables to work on, but for now there just isn't room and our machines are in pretty tight quarters with each other.

i just had to laugh every time it came sliding across my extended quilting table, headed for my piecing work, and roll it to the side out of the way.

really, it was quite fun to be working together at the same time. we could comment to each other on what we were doing or how things were going. i got to show her when my piecing matched up perfectly ... and when it didn't. she'd congratulate me or laugh, as was appropriate. and, like before, she'd periodically bliss out and tell me how much she enjoyed the sewing.

and despite the invasion, i was able to complete my blocks.

i hope this becomes a more regular thing for us.

we'll be working on her binding shortly, and then moving on to her next quilt. she already has ideas for that, and one pattern & fabric pull pairing waiting. so it seems my odds of more companion quilting in tight quarters are pretty high.

the pleasantest thing

this little lady is sewing her first quilt!

d5, youngest of my 5 daughters, has been helping me sew quilts since she could place her pudgy baby hands on mine and push fabric through the machine. now she's nine and ready to do her own quilting.

it all started with this beloved book - the swing by robert louis stevenson, illustrated by julie morstad - which is a beautifully pictured version of this sweet peom. a few years ago, about when she was five, d5 memorized this poem as part of our homeschool curriculum. we always loved how there was a patchwork quilt in one of the illustrations and said someday we should make that very quilt.

a few weeks ago when she was showing interest in quilting, we stopped talking and got planning.

we decided on 8" finished squares to give us a size we liked (48"x64"). i made a little grid to represent the quilt as pictured in the book (6x8), then we identified kona cotton solid colors that we thought best represented the colors in the illustration, picking a color for each square. 

the book quilt almost follows a pattern of every-other-square being a warm, spice brown color, but on some of those squares, the illustrator colored over the brown with a blue. d5 picked kona 1075 cinnamon for her background brown. i thought it was a little deep-toned, but i let her make the final decision. we chose kona 1058 cadet for the blue-grey washed over alternate background squares.

the other squares were a variety of colors that in some cases appeared to be tones of the same color. i let her make the call about which colors she wanted to use for the squares where it was questionable which shade was most accurate. some of the squares were very light, almost white, but we wanted color not white for them, so d5 picked shell for those. (in case you're looking closely and wondering - i don't have color chips for shell, goldfish, or watermelon, which are more colors we used. we used the most current kona color card to pick our colors.) 

there is one square very close to the little girl's skirt in the illustration that is more pink than all the other shell pink squares. we chose kona 143 petal for this one square as a special accent.

then we went shopping.

i meant to do all the maths before we went to the store so i could get the right amounts of yardage for each color, but i didn't get that done ahead of time. i don't mind having more solid colors hanging around, so i opted to get 2 yards of cinnamon (background color), 1 yard cadet (2dnary background and binding) and 1/2 yards of everything else. this was generous sizing as some of the colors only appear 2 or 3 times.

here is our color palette, left to right:

1075 cinnamon (main/background color)

474 goldfish

143 petal

1064 carribean

1846 lemon ice

1483 salmon

1058 cadet

1384 watermelon

1271 shell

we got cutting and stitching on a lovely, lazy, stay-in-jammies kind of weekend afternoon. she'd press the color and i'd cut the squares, then she'd lay them out on a piece of batting on the floor. (my design walls are currently all covered and this is my preferred method when wall space isn't available.)

when only the first 3 squares were laid out, she excitedly exclaimed, "mom, look! it's so beautiful!"

once the cutting was done, the stitching began. i'd pick up a row and then hand her pairs of squares to join, having her chain piece as i snipped them apart for her. after a while she said, "you're doing all the hard work. i'm just stitching." haha! i told her the stitching was the most important at the moment and i sure wished i had someone to cut my fabric or stand next to me and hand me all my pieces when i was sewing quilts. 

i had her sewing on the turtle setting for speed (juki's lowest setting). after a few rows, she asked to speed up. i told her as it was her very first quilt i thought she should continue on the turtle to get used to sewing straight even though she was doing a really good job. she complied for a few more squares and then i could hear the machine working at a faster pace. a few squares in she moved back down to turtle and said in a resigned voice, "sorry i doubted you, mom. you were right. i should have trusted your experience. kids just don't like to be told what to do." 

she was supposed to be backstitching over the seam junctures when sewing the rows together. i like to do this for reinforcement. every now and then she'd forget. one of the times she forgot, she said, "well, that was horrifying. it broke my heart." i have a bit of a perfectionist on my hands here. there was something else i told her to do that she questioned and i told her, "well, ou need to do it if you care about accuracy." her reply, "which i do. if you think i don't, you don't know me very well."

i showed her how to press the seams as we completed each row. conquering seam pressing is more difficult than stitching, and harder for me to be patient about with the learner. but we managed. we pinned rows together and she did a great job sewing those, too. the majority of her points match up perfectly and the others are barely off. (pinning doesn't work any better for me, either.)  i really am impressed how accurate her 1/4" seams turned out. she seems born to quilt.

we had to stop for dinner, but she wanted to push through and finish the whole top. she genuinely enjoyed the stitching. while sewing away she would randomly make exclamations like, "i love sewing!" it was a real joy to work alongside her and watch her develop this new skill.

 

by bedtime, we had a completed quilt top - her very first. she's so happy with it and i'm so happy with her. the way the colors are laid out isn't exactly how i would have placed them if i were choosing for myself, but it is a faithful reproduction of the quilt in the illustration. we love it. it feels like something you'd find in an old farmhouse that your great-grandma made from scraps. we call it "the pleasantest thing" which comes from a line on the same page as the quilt illustration in the book.

backing, quilting, and binding coming up.

and then we have plans for more quilts inspired by the book! there aren't anymore quilts in the pictures, but each page is an absolute delight in color palette and layout, so we've got lots of ideas for a series to represent each illustration. 

i can't think of anything more pleasant to do with this girl.

binding the little ones close

 i'm currently binding "star of the circus" whenever i get the chance: soccer games, while visiting with friends, or when we're just hanging out as a family. it's nice that it keeps my lap warm while i work since this is the time of year that's desirable.

i like to have some photos snapped of me working on the quilt because i'm foolish enough to think future generations who own this quilt might actually like a picture of grandma working on the little piece of her they've inherited. i would certainly like to see any heirloom i have when it was in the works, in the hands of the maker. so i grab a child and ask them to take some pictures.

 naturally, i prefer that this happen when i feel photo-presentable, which is usually on a sunday afternoon after church. a few weeks ago all of this was happening when i got an interested photobomber. first, she asked if she could sit next to me in the photos, wanting what she always wants: attention and the world to revolve around her 5 yr old self. she's a cute enough prop that i said ok.

 then she asked if she could help me sew! one of the reasons i enjoy handwork is the methodical, meditative, slow-paced aspect of it. i can either concentrate on a conversation in the room, or have one in my head. either way, it's always slow work. but adding a 5 yr old into the mix makes it even slower.

i admit i was reluctant to let her into my personal stitching space at first. but we worked it out very nicely. i place the needle, getting it started. she pulls it through. she did ask to do all the work herself after a minute or two, but i held firm to the arrangement. i do want the binding to be functional and look good, too. (it's the perfect opportunity to introduce her to her own stitching projects, like burlap stitching.)

however, giving her a chance to sew with me has many benefits.

it increases my enjoyment of the project and adds to the emotional value of the quilt. i imagine someday i'll look back and say, "i remember when d5 was so little and we stitched this binding together!" her involvement becomes part of the story of the quilt.

it also creates pleasant memories and associations for her, piques her interest in sewing, and attaches her to the project. when she looks at quilts she's helped me with, she'll be able to think, "i helped mommy make that!" i'm hoping this spurs her to create on her own in the future. of course it's an opportunity to instruct her on sewing skills.

so often, letting the kids "help" me sew is anything but help. it can cause extreme frustration and maybe even some explosions on my part. however, i believe it's an important investment in not only their future as creative people, but an investment in our current relationship, as well.

i already know this quilt is going to take several sit-down episodes to bind. slowing down a bit more to let her sew with me isn't going to delay the process much. since there's no deadline on this quilt, i have the luxury of being able to include her.

and as it turns out, she only stays interested for a short period of time anyway. after a few minutes, she'll bounce off to other things. i'm glad this is a lesson i'm learning right along side those she is gleaning.

it has certainly made both of us happy in this instance.

quicky trick or treat tote

my 8 yr old, d4, decided she was in need of a new trick or treat bag, so we cobbled one together this afternoon. there are bag tutorials aplenty out there, but i chose to just wing it. not necessarily the smartest move, but i find when i'm making something fairly simple - a square with two straps - it can be instructive to figure out the construction myself.

we made a very basic, unlined bag for her to gather her halloween night treasures in. i'm sure some interfacing would have stiffened things up nicely, but we were going for really simple and quick. a lining would have been a bit more professional, too, but again, not absolutely necessary for our purposes.

halfway thru the making process, i remembered there was a pattern for a similar bag that s2 made for his sisters several christmases ago. its in the lovely book "sewing for children" by emma hardy (bn or amazon). that bag was lined (slightly more complicated) and used thick grosgrain ribbons for the handles (easier). if we hadn't already been half done, i would have used that pattern again.

 we started with a fat quarter and 2 jelly roll (2.5" x 42") strips of orange. d4 wanted a bag that hung to her hips, otherwise we could have used shorter strips.

 first we folded the fat quarter in half, wrong sides together, and cut a 12" x 12" square. this size was selected based on eyeballing what we wanted and adding a bit more for seam allowances. i will note that d4 did not think it would hold enough candy, but mom is sure it will hold plenty.

at this point, i remembered to press the fabrics. if we'd wanted a more durable bag, prewashing would have been essential.

 to create a clean line on the top of the bag, we hemmed it. first, mark a 1/2" along the top of the bag on the wrong side of the fabric. we used a hera marker to make a crease. a washable marker or pencil works, too.

 fold the fabric along the line and fingerpress in place.

 then iron smooth.

 fold over and fingerpress again.

 iron smooth once more.

and this is where i should have inserted the straps into the seam allowance of the hem, but forgot to. it worked out fine, but it did involve some seamripping later on.

 i had d4 sew a 1/4" seam using the seam guide foot.

 but i decided we wanted that flap of the hem closed more fully, so i had her do it again at a scant 1/2" seam, putting the stitching right on the edge of the fold. so now it's reinforced and she got some more sewing practice.

 then we folded the body of the bag in half, right sides together, pinned it in a few spots, and made a 1/2" seam along the side and bottom. because we cut the body fabric while it was folded in half, we didn't have a third seam along the other side.

when the body seams are done, turn the bag inside out and press flat.

 to make the straps, fold in half along the length, press flat, and sew with a 1/4" seam. (you can see in the photo that d4 accidentally sewed along the folded side first time around. no worries: sew the correct side and get cozy with the seam ripper.)

once the strap is sewn, turn it inside out. i used a combination of the safetypin and pencil method.

our straps were 42" long, a bit more than we needed. i simply draped them across d4"s shoulder to determine where she wanted the bag to fall, and trimmed there (with a bit more for seam allowance). i think we took off about 8".

 this is when i realized i should have done the straps at the beginning for a cleaner look. to correct my mistake, i simply seamripped a gap where i wanted to place the handles. if you're making a really quick bag you don't intend to keep or use much, and aesthetics aren't a big deal, you can simply attach the handles to the inside of the bag without inserting them into the hem.

but i seamripped where i wanted the handle placed, with a few stitches wiggle room on each side, and inserted the strap end, pinning in place.

 then i sewed over it a few times to secure, and to secure the ends of the hem where i'd seamripped. fortunately, the fabric we were using hid all the sewing pretty well. it blended right in.

then i folded the strap up, away from the bag and sewed close to the top, to help the strap lie flat against the hem, and backtracked to make it a bit more secure.

 not very pretty sewing, but at this point d4 had moved on and i was scrunched up at her little (pink) brother machine, on a very short table, trying to see well enough to backstitch. it came out rather slanted. not that i cared too much. it's her loss for abandoning me!

i attached the straps on the very outside corners of each side of the bag, and made sure to fold them in a u-shape when i sewed the second side of each strap on. this helps the straps lay nicely on the shoulder when wearing them.

if i hadn't been letting an 8 yr old do most of the sewing, and had to deal with various other interruptions, it could have easily been completed in under an hour. as it is, it took more than that. but who's counting?

despite the fact that we did this quickly without lots of the nicer finishing touches like interfacing or lining, d4 is very happy with it and declared "this looks like a bag from the store!" i supose compared to the first tote she made all by herself, with no hemming and christmas fabric, this bag did turn out a bit more professionally.

now all we need do is wait out the week until we can fill it with candy.

involved

 no one tell his dad that he was taking a break from his algebra and chemistry and laying out a block for his quilt instead of sitting at a computer working on calculations or studying for his midterm.

i was taking a minute to make that peace-offering of an apron and the boy wandered in to my sewing area, looking for a momentary brain reprieve. he saw his quilt pieces and started laying strips out into a block.

i can't tell you how pleased having him involved in this process made me, but perhaps the look on my face says enough. just take that smile and multiply it by infinity. (or a google, a number he was obsessed with as a littler tyke.) i wish i'd let him lay out all of the blocks for me. watching his mind work on it's creative side, which is considerable, makes me pretty proud as a parent. talking about the process with him is so fun and i love that he's had a part in designing his own quilt now.

he would have stayed and worked up many more for me, i'm sure, but i had to be responsible and send him back to his studies when this block was completed. i hope i assembled it to his high standards. i wonder if he'll be able to pick it out of the quilt someday down the road.

quilting with the littles

 my family's annual girls weekend has come and gone again. like last year, i was in charge of the humanitarian project. and like last year, i brought along a quilt for everyone to piece together for project linus. in fact, it was the same quilt. we didn't get very far last year. but that's okay. this year the girls made enough blocks for two small quilt tops.

the first little quilters to join me in making were the youngest girls, aged 3 to 5. they all loved picking out the four fabrics for their four patch blocks.

 zipping them up on the machine was super easy, too. i either held the tiny quilter in my lap and let her put her hands on mine as we guided the fabric through, or i had her stand next to me and run the foot pedal. "drive! go!," i'd say when it was time to stitch. they were each so thrilled with their simple blocks when they came together.

 this baby thought she should wear her blocks.

 the middle group of girls, aged 7 to 11, were just as game as the younger crowd to get sewing. however, some of them were more hesitant with the sewing. one little blondie turtled her way through her block, then let out a huge sigh of relief. "that was the first time i ever sewed anything. it was scary!!!" i asked what she was afraid of and she said she was worried about "messing it up."  it reminded me of sitting in my first quilt class, sweating profusely, nearly shaking, wanting so badly to make a quilt but being terrified i wouldn't be able to do it. and i was a grown woman.

 the girls waited very patiently for each other to finish and some even came back for seconds, making more than two blocks each.

 this baby loved nothing more than selecting fabrics and sewing them together. she made about 6 blocks. her unique sewing stance totally worked, too.

quilt number one got laid out and mostly sewn together. i accidentally flipped some blocks and then had to rearrange nearly the whole rest of the layout. unpicking would have been easier!

i didn't pressure any of the older girls or moms to help us. they had other things to do. i thoroughly enjoyed hanging out with the girls who wanted to participate and sharing in their enthusiasm. i proposed that we do this each year and that in the future we work on a quilt for a different family member each time so that eventually we will all have our own girls weekend quilt. they were all for the idea. me, too!

making room

so, the sewing won out. no surprise there! this room is officially becoming a sewing room, no longer a split-personality dining/sewing room. it doesn't look too different yet and there is a lot of work to go, but i've begun the process of transitioning this room into a full-fledged, dedicated sewing room. and begun bringing everything down here from my bawthroom sewing space. if i'm going to have a sewing room, all my stash is going to be in it. so far, i've shortened the dining table (which will be leaving eventually) and turned it around. i moved my low shelves to create a cutting space (on the right). i want to build a new pressing table that's better proportioned to the room and will allow me to store boxes under it, but for now the ironing board is still holding it up. the design walls have been propped up on the actual walls where they will go but still need attaching and some extending. there is still so much to do. this weekend my dad is supposed to put together some more shelves for me to go under that back design wall. this is the tip of the iceberg, but it already feels good to have it started and to know where i'm heading.

something i realized while moving everything around: i have way too much fabric. it's helped curb my buying appetite tremendously to once again rifle through what i already own.

there is another new addition to the room, too: a sewing space for d4, my bestest little sewing buddy.

 last week, we finally got back my old Little (Pink) Brother machine, which i'm giving to her (but still retaining rights to). poor little (pink) brother fell out of the back window of the suburban last fall and has needed repair ever since. frankly, i was surprised and relived it could be salvaged after a four foot fall onto the driveway. but it's all better now and ready for her to sew on. i put a small table and chair in one corner of the room and this is her spot.

she's been enthusiastically trying out lots of different stitches and supposedly practicing sewing a straight line. i have to say that i didn't realize how much i love and value the auto thread cutter and knee lift bar on my juki until i was helping her get set up on this machine. goodness, what a lot of time is spent in those simple functions when you don't have the auto option!

 she picked out a mini charm pack to make into a doll quilt and had so much fun laying it out on the design wall.

i love watching her work and listening to all her humming or funny comments to herself while she plays with fabric.

sharing this space with her makes it that much more enjoyable.

how to get time to quilt

 i had a quilting deadline this weekend. my dear friend, jill, who used to come sew with me on friday mornings before she moved away 9 months ago, was coming into town and i needed to finish up that "bloom where you are planted" quilt so i could give it to her when we would be seeing her on sunday. i had a top and two days to do the rest.

on friday, the marathon finish started. i had to stop to tend to the children so many times, which can be frustrating. but it's just the way it goes around here. i got rather desperate to entertain them, so i pulled out all the stops, using my best tricks and most desperate measures. namely, i let them make a complete mess just so they could be with me but entertained as well.

 d5 loves anything to do with scissors. i gave her a pair of snips and a bag of stuffing strings. this worked on and off, but not as well as i had hoped at keeping her busy. she'd rather "help" me sew or jump on my back while i'm at the machine, yelling, "climbing monkey!" when she does. i just have to go with the flow and periodically stop to read books to her.

 d4 spent a lot of time playing with the eeboo patchwork tiles. and then she got out her sewing box and made some pjs for a toy bird.

d3 stayed the most involved, picking out scraps for her gee's bend inspired concept quilt. but she did have a meltdown moment when i had to pull all the pretty little strings she'd taken from her little sister's stuffing strings pile. she just couldn't understand about 1/2" disappearing into the seam allowance and why she couldn't use pieces smaller than 1". "But its going to ruin my whole quilt if you take those out!" there were tears, but i think we've moved on. i gave her a small 1"x6" ruler and told her the pieces for her quilt had to be at least that big.

i think there were other desperate things i tried, but in the end it paid off because i got this done:

i'll get a proper post of this finish up as soon as i can.

eeboo patchwork

 i was looking for some eeboo games for my toddler on amazon and stumbled across this patchwork design tiles game. well, it's more like a creativity activity than a game because you just design with it rather than compete to complete anything. i ordered it and have to say i think this is the coolest game for any quilter's child, or quilter of any age, for that matter.

ever since it came out of the shipping package, my littlest girls have been dying to get their hands on it, but i told them mom needed to photograph it first. oh, the agony of suspense! (yes, i did enjoy that a little bit. there is way too much instant gratification in the world today.)

 there are 64 hst tiles, doublesided, with patchwork designs on each. the box bottom makes a tray that's designed to hold 32 tiles in a 4x4 block pattern. each tile has up to three different fabric in various shapes on it. this is what it looked like when i pulled the lid off. there are florals and plaids, as well as some solids. i think the manufacturer must have photographed actual fabrics, even the solids, because you can see the threads on each tile. however, unlike fabric, these are nice and thick particle board triangles that are quite sturdy and can withstand lots of handling without any stretching or distortion.

 when i removed the top layer of tiles, i found this configuration awaiting. all of these were solids (obviously) and contained a quarter circle design.

 i flipped each of those tiles over and got this configuration. so much fun already and i haven't even designed my own pattern yet.

 as best i can tell on initial inspection, there are four types of block styles: 1) large quarter cirlce design in two colors, 2) solid colored/single print hst, 3) two orange peel segments plus a background fabric, either both orange peels the same or different, 4) just one orange peel segment along an edge and a background fabric. i'm sure there are traditional names for each of these, i just don't know them.

with 64 tiles, each doublesided, that means there are quite a lot, almost endless, possiblities for design here. it's rather dizzying to consider.

 the inside of the box lid had some starter samples to get the creative juices flowing. i'm thinking this is not only a wonderful exercise in creativity for the kids, but for an adult as well. messing around with these tiles will likely inspire all sorts of ideas for quilting. wouldn't it be refreshing to pick this up when you're in a creativity slump and just play, no commitments?

the girls finally got to break into the tiles. not only were they so excited (yay! we get to make quilts!), they played nice and divided them up so they could both play at the same time. no one said you had to use the box tray. i suppose you could say they were thinking outside the box already.

to keep it interesting, i'm only letting them use these tiles when i'm actually quilting. that should help the value of the game stay high and give me some uninterrupted time to quilt as well. win-win!

and then it'll be my turn to play.

for the record, we own several eeboo games and highly recommend them all.

 my favorites might be "i never forget a face," an international memory game, the good manners flashcards, and united states bingo. but then again, they're all good!

i have several versions of matching games, both regular and toddle-sized. all products are high quality, very durable, and beautifully illustrated, often by well-known children's illustrators such as melissa sweet and dan yaccarino. they are wonderful for encouraging critical thinking and/or creativity.

and for the further record, this is not a sponsored post or affiliate link. although it probably should be because i'm pretty sure every quilter i know is going to want those patchwork design tiles!